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GOP BLOCKS TAX EXTENDERS BILL. Our Burgess Everett and Brian Faler run down what happened — and what could happen next: “The legislation, which would have revived a raft of expired tax breaks, failed to clear a procedural hurdle amid widespread objections from Republicans that they had not been allowed to offer amendments, including one targeting an Obamacare medical device tax. The vote was 53-40, with 60 needed to advance the measure.”

“Lawmakers said they did not know what happens next with the so-called tax extenders, which would renew a hodgepodge of temporary provisions benefiting teachers, commuters, banks and others that are usually rolled over by Congress with minimal drama. Some Republicans said they hoped the delay would be brief, though the party’s top tax writer acknowledged the move could kill the legislation until after this year’s midterm elections. That’s an unfortunate risk, said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), but it’s more important for Republicans to stand up for their rights.”

“Lawmakers will take the weekend and the first couple of days of next week to see if an amendment deal can be worked out, aides in both parties said. Hatch said his side will continue to push for a vote to block the medical device tax, which Republicans complain Democrats will not allow though it enjoys broad bipartisan support.” Read on: http://politico.pro/1nUdNn3

WYDEN WEIGHS IN. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden said in a statement: “The EXPIRE Act continues to be critical and timely legislation that we have to get done. And as I have said before, I continue to be open to narrowly related amendments similar to those added in Committee that strengthen the bill. In terms of next steps, I am pushing ahead today — working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle — to find a path forward.” Read the Oregon Democrat’s full response: http://1.usa.gov/1g9QTIc

CREDIT SUISSE LIKELY TO PAY $2.5B SETTLEMENT. POLITICOPro’s Kate Davidson reports, “Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, is likely to pay more than $2.5 billion to settle charges that it helped wealthy Americans hide more than $10 billion in thousands of offshore accounts, according to a person familiar with the matter. It’s not clear yet how the penalty would be divided among state and federal agencies, including the Justice Department, Federal Reserve and New York Department of Financial Services, because the agreement has not yet been finalized, the person said. An announcement could come as early as next week. Prosecutors are also seeking guilty pleas from the bank as part of the settlement.”

IT’S FRIDAY! Your Morning Tax-er is looking forward to finally getting the chance to go up the Washington Monument this weekend — hope you’ve all got fun plans ahead! If you want to talk taxes, you can find me at mweinger@politico.com or on Twitter at @mweinger. As always, please follow @POLITICOPro and @Morning_Tax.

HOUSE & SENATE: Gone.

ASTRAZENECA CHIEF ON PFIZER ‘RISK.’ The Guardian reports has the story: “Pascal Soriot, the chief executive of AstraZeneca, has stepped up his attack on the business model of Pfizer, the US drugs company stalking the UK business, and warned that the British drugs group could be damaged by Pfizer's tax avoidance plans. Pfizer, which has proposed a £63bn takeover of the UK business, intends to use the AstraZeneca deal to relocate its tax base to the UK. The move is designed to move away from the US's higher rate of corporation tax, but US Democratic senators angered by the strategy have expressed determination to close this legal loophole.”

“The risk is that if it turns into a controversy our own company would be impacted by it. Even if we were to agree a [takeover] deal, it takes eight to 10 months to close it,” Soriot told The Guardian. “If this controversy leads to a delay, you have to remember the shareholders of Pfizer can still vote no.” Read more: http://bit.ly/1mZf1Ar

LEVIN: LOOK FOR ANTI-INVERSION BILL ON TUESDAY. Sen. Carl Levin says he expects to introduce legislation on Tuesday that would limit corporate inversions. Our Kelsey Snell reports, “The Michigan Democrat told reporters that, if passed, all provisions in the bill would be effective from the date of introduction. The bill largely mirrors a White House proposal that would increase the amount of stock a foreign company must own in a U.S. company in order avoid paying U.S. taxes and would require managers to be located in the foreign branch.”

TIGTA CITES $2.3B ‘ALIMONY GAP.’ There’s a more than $2.3 billion gap between alimony deductions claimed by taxpayers and the corresponding income reported, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a report — and the IRS has little in place to deal with the problem. Read the full report here: http://1.usa.gov/1qGptOE

ITEP REPORT ON EXPANDING STATE EITC. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has a new report looking at all 50 states that it says shows “the simplest, most effective, and most targeted way to begin to counteract regressive state tax codes is a refundable state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).”

“Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia already have some version of a state EITC. Each one is modeled on the federal credit, making it easy for taxpayers to claim and simple for state tax officials to administer. This report explains how all states — even those who already have some form of the credit — can use the state EITC as a tool for improving the fairness of their state tax code.” Check out the report here: http://bit.ly/1llKqYi

MFA: SOURCE OF GEORGIA SENATE RACE DRAMA. POLITICOPro’s James Hohmann reports, “David Perdue, who leads Republicans in the polls ahead of Tuesday’s Georgia Senate primary, is facing criticism for expressing support for new forms of government revenue during a local editorial board meeting. He’s defended himself by noting that he signed the no-new-taxes pledge from Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform. But he’s also suggested during candidate forums that he is open to an online sales tax. … Here’s the rub: Americans for Tax Reform considers the Marketplace Fairness Act, which passed the Senate but stalled in the House, a tax increase.” For Pros: http://politico.pro/1sy1nkQ

IF IRS COULD TURN BACK TAXES. The Washington Post takes a look at a proposal that would require the IRS “to turn over millions of unpaid tax bills to private debt collectors under a measure before the Senate, reviving a program that has previously led to complaints of harassment and has not saved taxpayers money. The provision was tucked into a larger bill, aimed at renewing an array of expired tax breaks, at the request of Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), whose state is home to two of the four private collection agencies that stand to benefit from the proposal.” Read on: http://wapo.st/1jB1XZM

—Reuters reports, “Greece's government on Thursday denied it had instituted a retroactive tax on foreign holders of Greek bonds, and revoked a tax document that spooked investors and sent yields to near two-month highs.” http://reut.rs/1jOiApU

—“Endo International Plc, one of a half dozen U.S. drugmakers that recently took Irish addresses to save on taxes, said it plans to spend $60 million to pay personal tax bills incurred by top executives in connection with the switch,” Bloomberg reports. http://bloom.bg/1nV12sk

—The New York Times’ Floyd Norris: “Convicted of Felonies, Banks Are Allowed to Stay in Business.” http://nyti.ms/1lw3x0B

DID YOU KNOW? Mark Twain received his last patent for a history trivia game dubbed “Memory-Builder: A Game for Acquiring and Retaining All Sorts of Facts and Dates.”